DESCRIPTION:
During the 1950s, France decided to field a long-range manned bomber as part of its nuclear deterrent
force. Dassault was chosen to develop this two-seat bomber based on the company's experience with
supersonic jets. The final design was based on a twin-engine night-fighter variant of Dassault's
Mirage III. The resulting Mirage IV was designed to carry one nuclear
bomb in a semi-recessed fuselage bay at high speeds to targets as far as Moscow or Ukraine in the Soviet
Union, with the aid if aerial refueling. Production of the Mirage IVA bomber was completed in 1968 after
62 had been built.

During the 1970s, the Mirage IV fleet was modified with two hardpoints on each wing to carry external fuel
tanks and electronic countermeasures or chaff/flare pods for self defense. The wing pylons could also
carry a heavy load of conventional bombs, but this armament was seldom used.

Modifications were also made to 12 Mirage IVA aircraft that were converted into high-altitude
reconnaissance platforms known as the Mirage IVR. This conversion saw the nuclear armament removed in
favor of a reconfigurable sensor pod carrying cameras or a SLAR package.

A major upgrade came during the 1980s when 18 Mirage IVA bombers, plus one additional new production
airframe, were updated to the Mirage IVP (penetration) standard. The Mirage IVP was designed to carry a
primary armament of one ASMP long-range nuclear cruise missile in place of the bomb carried on the Mirage
IVA. Additional upgrades introduced on the Mirage IVP included a new radar with ground-mapping capability
and a radar warning receiver.

The Mirage IVA fleet had been retired by the time the Mirage IVP completed entering service in 1987, and
the survivors remained in storage until scrapped in 1997. Only 13 of the Mirage IVP fleet remained
operational by 1992 and these were finally removed from service in 1996 when replaced by the
Mirage 2000N. A handful Mirage IVR aircraft continued to operate over
Afghanistan until phased out in 2005. Their reconnaissance duties were assumed by the
Mirage F.1CR until the reconnaissance capabilities of the Mirage
2000N became available.